The Rover
The Rover series, Book 1
Mel Odom
Tor
Fiction, YA? Fantasy
Themes: Epics, Fantasy Races, Libraries, Pirates, Wizards
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Description
The halfling Edgewick Lamplighter was proud of himself when, despite his father's objections to leaving the family trade, he was accepted at
the Vault of All Known Knowledge as a librarian... but, many years later, he's only advanced to Third Librarian. It's his insistence on reading
meaningless imaginary drivel, the Grandmagister insists, rather than devoting himself fully to histories and other tangible study paths, that
holds him back. But Wick can't give up the excitement of those tales, thrills he never finds in his own sedate and cowardly life. At age seventy,
nearly full-grown for a halfling, he should've matured beyond such childish impulses - and if he hasn't done so by now, he probably never will be
First Librarian material.
Sent by the Grandmagister to deliver a letter, Wick's curiosity nearly gets him killed, as monsters unseen since the earth-shaking Cataclysm
suddenly attack the peaceful, secluded land of Greydawn Moors. Before he knows it, he's living an adventure wilder than anything he's ever read...
and facing dangers that threaten to destroy the Moors and the Vaults, dangers hearkening back to the terrible days of the Cataclysm itself.
Review
So, a sheltered halfling finds himself reluctantly traveling far away from his peaceful home town, falling into the company of dwarves and humans,
fighting goblins and plundering crypts and even venturing into an abandoned dwarven fastness wherein an evil dragon dwells... yes, there's more than
a hint of Tolkien's works here. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of any other books I've read that were this clearly "inspired" by Middle Earth.
The frequent, plot-stopping trips into the world's history speak of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the overall presentation and simpler
story lean strongly toward The Hobbit - so much so that I suspect young adults (especially those who haven't read much fantasy) would enjoy
it more than full-grown fantasy fans, despite how the book was packaged and marketed. They also would be less likely to wonder why a fantasy world
(which, if it is related to Earth, has been so devastated by ancient magical wars as to render its countries and peoples unrecognizable) employs
Earth-centric terms like "shanghaied" and "welshed," when there is no Shanghai or Wales for the terms to have originated from.
Like many pseudo-Bilbo protagonists, Wick starts out an insecure coward until his travels and worldly experience transform him into a proper hero, a
journey not without its plot-convenient jumps forward and backwards. His companions as he moves through the phases of his adventure tend to blend
together as loose sketches of characters, a few even having annoyingly similar names... not unlike Bilbo's dwarf companions on his way to Smaug's lair
in The Hobbit. Wick's only unique trait, so far as Bilbo knock-offs go, is his devotion to reading and the Vaults; the rest of the world
beyond the Moors, he quickly learns, has entirely forgotten the value of books, viewing reading and writing as the tools of untrustworthy wizards. This
trait actually shines through at several spots, providing him with a purpose, though elsewhere it serves mainly to bog down the plot as Wick fills in
unnecessarily in-depth histories of the various people, places, and things he encounters... or is reminded of, or otherwise decides to fill page count
by pondering at length. The ending leaves Wick's adventures wide open for a sequel - meaning that several of the major story arcs thrown out during the
book are left hanging at the end, limp loose ends that wind up feeling like red herrings. For all of its flaws, though, I still managed to keep turning
pages. Things kept happening - at least, between history lessons - and I almost found myself enjoying the blatant Tolkienesque "inspirations" Odom
employed. I might have given the thing another half-star (having paid only a buck for the book to begin with, my expectations weren't exactly sky-high)
but Odom's writing style bugged me too much; the man seriously needed a sharper-eyed editor, or at least a competent proofreader, to sort out overused
phrases, misplaced italics, and other subtle yet irritating problems that had me beating back my inner editor with a baseball bat. (The Vault of All
Known Knowledge is just one example of the continual redundancies that plague the narrative.)
Ultimately, if you're a fan of The Hobbit and "halflings" (hobbit stand-ins), and if you aren't looking for a highly original story, you'll probably
enjoy The Rover. If you're looking for something more unique or sophisticated, I'd suggest that you look elsewhere.